Dining by the book.(Turning the Tables: Restaurants from the Inside Out by Steven Shaw)(Book Review)

Steven Shaw pokes his arctic char tartare and brings a small piece up to his mouth. He peers at it, takes a bite. "It's got salt in it," he says. "Most of the time, when chefs make these tartares, they won't mix the salt in, because if you mix it in, you'd better serve it within about a minute, otherwise the salt will start drawing liquid out from the flesh. You'll have a soggy mess," says Shaw, who covers food and restaurants for eGullet.org, the culinary Web site he founded in 2001. He explains that most restaurants prepare the tartare portions and refrigerate them, then sprinkle some salt on top right before serving. "But this was clearly made--and mixed--to order," he says.

It is one of many observations Shaw will make tonight as we dine at the bar room at The Modern, blue-ribbon restaurateur Danny Meyer's newest venture, in the recently renovated Museum of Modern Art in midtown Manhattan. Over several courses, …